Some of you may have seen this absolutely asinine article posted on the Return of Kings blog already. Now, while I had not heard of this site before, the tagline “for masculine men” with an author commenting on “specialties in dating culture, social intelligence, and the state of masculinity” basically sums up the expected level of frat-tastic douchebaggery that shall follow.

In an article this week entitled “Girls With Short Hair are Damaged” the illiberal (and rather narcissistic) author claims that short hair is basically the biggest mistake a woman could ever make because in so many words, it’s ugly. Period, no exceptions. When one claims only some can ‘pull off’ such a style, the blogger’s retort is that “Just because you have enough left-over attractiveness to remain bangable after cutting off your hair doesn’t mean you wouldn’t look better with it back on”. He’s a real prize, as you can see. The author further notes that not only do all women look worse with short hair, but that men universally hate short hair on women. (Because you know, the only reason us women have hair is for men to appreciate it.)

He further insinuated that those gentlemen who claim to like short crops are simply taking advantage of the fact that girls with short hair are apparently easy. I would say that is quite the generalization, but based off of his experiences with short haired girls, I can kind of see where the guy is coming from. I would, however, note his questionable judgement in women; it’s always a good sign to see a man more interested in the length of a woman’s hair than being concerned with them being ‘roommates with a prostitute’ or “harbor(ing) twisted rape fantasies”. But hey, to each his own. It sure sounds like he has his priorities right and is great at picking out these true ladies.

I think what pissed me off the most about the article though is the statement that “Short hair is a political statement”. While I personally think that a woman can wear her hair any way she damn pleases, I can attest that for most women, it isn’t a matter of politics. I have a number of friends from all across the political spectrum who have kept their hair short for everything from those political statements, to climate, to their own personal style. That begin said, I did not have that same option as these women he claims are doing it to make a statement or bring attention to themselves. After having waist length hair for the majority of my life, I ended up having to buzz my head a few years back due to impending baldness per chemotherapy. I begrudgingly donated my ponytail and accepted the next three years of potential regrowth. I wasn’t making a political statement, and I sure as hell wasn’t doing it for more attention. I did at first associate short hair as something boys more frequently had (not your typical view of femininity if you must)–and thus dreaded having a pixie, and the entire growing out process. Though I received many compliments, I decided that short hair was just not my personal style, yet I fully embraced it while it lasted. Bows, headbands, over the top earrings. I made it work for me. Through the entire process of growing it out, I learned that femininity doesn’t come from the length of your hair, nor the myriad of other things you can potentially strap to your head as distractions from it. But rather it comes from how you carry yourself: how you want others to view you. I didn’t need two feet of hair to tell me that I was feminine, and nor should the rest of the world.

Despite the author’s assertions, not all of us women would “rather die” than cut our hair. I lost my hair so that I would live. Short hair did not make me more abrasive, masculine, deranged, or (especially) ‘easy’–it made me a stronger, more confident person, inside and out. The only perceived lack of self confidence I ever felt with short hair was due to assholes like him trying to tell me that I was any less feminine for rocking a hairstyle that doesn’t suit the cookie cutter gender roles that some men try to set our for society. While I am very far from your typical bra-burning feminist, the unbelievably sexist remarks made in the article made me realize that while women have come so far to overcome the 80 cents to a dollar and other societal inequalities, the unfortunate plight still exists, and is being solely perpetrated by these self-proclaimed “masculine men” spewing propaganda such as this to make women feel bad about a choice that should in fact make them more confident about themselves, their appearance, and their independence.

It’s true- some men don’t like short hair, and that’s something they choose. To be fair, I don’t really like men with long hair. But again, that’s also why I don’t date generally date them. I also don’t trash every single long-haired man on the internet, suggesting that his style means he is not ‘masculine enough’ by my standards. I was blessed enough to find someone during my short-hair time who did enjoy my pixie cut. To his dismay, I grew it out–but I grew it out for ME. Real men take a stand for women and their independent choices, not expect them to conform to society just to make the establishment happy.

Short hair is proof that I am far from damaged; it shows that I am a survivor. I am proud of my (former) pixie cut. And you, sir, are exactly what is wrong with society.

So I saw this on Buzzfeed today. Some of it is pretty awesome and some, well at least technology is cool and hopefully it will evolve to be really awesome…. Till then, enjoy! Let me know what you think!

I won’t claim to be the most organic, clean eating, chemical free, crunchy granola hippie out there but I gotta say, I am part of the club. I know there are a lot of buzzwords that float around about being eco-friendly, healthy, organic, pesticide and chemical free and while most of it just seems elitist and confusing, it actually may be something to pay attention to.

I won’t talk too much about food because let’s be real, that’s a huge topic and the whole system is riddled with chemicals, cancer inducing agents, things no one can pronounce, and tampered, poisoned, and contaminated ingredients that unless you want to pay an exuberant amount of money that none of us have or grow your own, is damn near impossible to avoid.

So instead, I am just going to highlight some cool products that have lately been putting some really cool stuff on their labels. It may be a small change but I am glad it is starting and more available than ever before. I am going to make sure I pay attention to it too…and I hope you do too!

The first product I have to say I am giving major props to is….

EOS: evolution of smooth. These little eggs are so adorable and totally badass. They are gluten-free, paraben-free, petrolatum- free, phthalate-free, and still taste delicious and make your lips so smooth and soft that no winter wind or cold sore will ever ruin!

They come in a variety of colors, are easy to care around, and totally affordable! (since they are available at nearly every drugstore and even 5 Below!)

I also reticently started shopping for a more of my beauty/hygiene products at natural/organic stores especially since I have jumped on the whole shampoo has seriously too many chemicals bandwagon, (I haven’t gone as far as stopped shampooing-oh yes, that’s a serious thing…look it up! Some people have gone years!) I still try to stay away with the ones that are a super loaded with all things I can’t pronounce. They can be pricier but you just have to be a smart shopper. Same goes for face cream which also freaks me out. I was going to pick up an e.l.f. moisturizing stick the other day because they concept and the price both were awesome but when I found out how much parabens were loaded into it, I just could not bring myself to reach in my pocket or bring that anywhere near my face! Instead I picked up a Dessert Essence Cream …look at this label:

My last highlight goes to LUNA bars. While they are a energy bar company and I am a mega fan, I am talking about their chap stick today. I am not sure if they actually sell them individually or if they just happen to come as samples in boxes every once in a while but I scored one at a conference called SHEsummit where they had a booth. This stick is a tinted lip gloss of Raspberry Shine and while I took it for granted at first, it is a coveted essential in my bag now. Not only is it a great hint of color bursting with moisture but it also does not contain a lot of crap!

So I am glad things are slowly changing and while sometimes I intentionally look for these labels, I am glad some of my trusted brands are incorporating this into their mission without me even knowing! I love it! Will you read more labels now?

How important is this to you? Do you care it products have chemicals in them or are tested on animals? Does it matter where your everyday items come from? Or do you prefer not knowing because something is going to kills us all someday anyway?

I am a terrible recipe writer/giver because, like my mother, I don’t really have measurements or exact specifications. I tend to cook based on taste and guesstimation. I always used to joke it was because of my Indian background. We don’t have measuring utensils, pots with hands, or even any butter knives at home but somehow my mom is an amazing cook, and I have the unfortunate waist size to prove it but this recipe I have for you today thrives on putting your personal taste and flair so I hope you try it!

MEATLESS STUFFED MUSHROOMS:

Ingredients:

mushrooms- I usually use button or Champignon mushrooms and the fresher they are, the more delicious (as per usual)

spinach

garlic cloves

ricotta cheese/mozzarella cheese/Parmesan cheese/pepper jack: as far as cheese goes, it is entirely up to you! The one in the pictures today I used a combo of ricotta and mozzarella but I have done with with just pepper jack and a combo of parmecan and mozzarella. It really just depends on what you are looking for. The Ricotta is very smooth and creamy so I really enjoyed it. With cheese, you can’t go wrong but I have to say mozzarella cheese does compliment the mushrooms very nicely.

onions (optional)

salt

pepper

bread crumbs

Those are the basics…feel free to add anything else to give it a little more zest! maybe some orange zest? peppers? croutons? whatever you want!

STEP 1: WASH YO SHROOMS!

I like to pick out the butt of the mushroom here too and thoroughly wash the inside as well. I get all my groceries at a local farm market and u-pick orchard and while I am particular to pick organic/local-grown/non pesticide ingredients, I still like to scrub them down.

STEP 2: BLEND IT ALL TOGETHER

Set your mushroom caps aside and take your butts, spinach, cheese, garlic cloves, salt, and pepper, and blend in a blender of your choice. My mom likes to start with the butts and add each ingredient separately to help handle the consistency. It should be closer to a chunky paste but again, up to you, just be sure not to make a total soup or it will be hard to contain and bake. Taste it as you go so you know how much cheese, garlic, and salt to add. Garlic tastes much heavier than it looks so start slow. For the one we did today we had about 4 cloves of a bulb and about 1.5 cups ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and almost a whole bushel or more of spinach.

STEP 3: TRY NOT TO EAT ALL THE DELICIOUS PASTE!!!

Once you have blended all your ingredients, the paste ends up being DELICIOUS! You can stop here and just use it as a dip or a spread but if you want to continue onto stuffing the mushrooms, don’t eat it all! haha

STEP 4: STUFF AND BAKE:

Now simple spoon in the paste into your mushrooms, sprinkle bread crumbs, and stick in the oven. Anywhere from 300-350 for about 20-50 minutes works. It all depends on how big your oven is and how well cooked you want your final dish to be. Today, we had amazingly fresh ingredients so we did not cook them for as long as we usually do. We also do all of our baking in the toaster oven because in our house, the oven is really just another cabinet for pots and pans so we go with 350 for 35 minutes but like I said, just be aware of were you are baking and adjust accordingly. They will start to brown on top and sometimes even the water will seep out making them look a little shrunken and odd but I promise they are just beyond appetizing.

STEP 5: STUFF YOUR FACE WITH STUFFED MUSHROOMS!

If you are impatient, dig in, just beware they are hot, hot, hot! Otherwise you can let them cook and enjoy them in a little bit. You can serve them as appetizers or depending on the size of your mushroom and quantity, as your whole meal. It’s all up to you!

I hope you try this recipe! Let me know what you think!!! STUFF ON MY FRIENDS!